Alzheimer's»

Statistics · 2026 data

7.4 million Americans. Most of them women.

About 1 in 9 Americans age 65 and older has Alzheimer's. By 2050 that could reach nearly 13 million.

See the numbers
Purple Alzheimer's awareness ribbon Image: ArtsyBee, CC0, Wikimedia Commons 05 07 Next: Personal Story Glen Campbell's goodbye

01 / Age and gender

Older people and women are hit hardest

% of each age group with Alzheimer's (US, 2026)

Age 65-74
5.2%
Age 75-84
13.8%
Age 85+
35.8%

Source: Alzheimer's Association, 2026 Facts and Figures

Americans 65+ with Alzheimer's, by sex (2026)

Women
4.5M
Men
2.9M

Almost two-thirds are women. At age 45, a woman's lifetime risk is about 1 in 5, and a man's is about 1 in 10. The main reason is that women live longer, and age is the biggest risk factor.

Source: Alzheimer's Association, 2026 Facts and Figures

% of adults 65+ with Alzheimer's, by race (CHAP study)

Black
19%
Hispanic
14%
White
10%

Source: Alzheimer's Association, 2026 Facts and Figures

02 / Race and ethnicity

Not everyone has the same risk

Older Black Americans are about 2 times as likely to have Alzheimer's or another dementia as older White Americans. Older Hispanic Americans are about 1.5 times as likely.

Researchers say the difference is not caused by genes. It's linked to health conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes, and to life circumstances like income and access to care.

03 / Deaths

Fatality and death rate

116,022US deaths from Alzheimer's in 2024 (CDC)
#6leading cause of death in the US (#5 for people 65+)
+134%increase in Alzheimer's deaths from 2000 to 2024, while heart disease and stroke deaths went down
1 in 3older Americans dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia

Alzheimer's is ultimately fatal, and there is no cure. Worldwide, 57 million people had dementia in 2021, and Alzheimer's may cause 60-70% of those cases (WHO). About 12-13 million Americans care for someone with dementia without pay. In 2025 they gave 19.6 billion hours of care.

Read Glen Campbell's storyFull 2026 report
Families have always carried most of the care. Today 12-13 million Americans give it without pay.
Families have always carried most of the care. Today 12-13 million Americans give it without pay.
Image: Library of Congress (c. 1900), public domain, Wikimedia Commons

04 / Early onset

Not only the elderly

About 200,000 Americans have "younger-onset" Alzheimer's, which starts before age 65. The rare inherited forms caused by the APP, PSEN1 and PSEN2 genes can start in a person's 40s.

Sources for this tab

  1. Alzheimer's Association. 2026 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures (Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2026). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13098189/
  2. Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's Facts and Figures. https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures
  3. CDC National Center for Health Statistics. FastStats: Alzheimer's Disease. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/alzheimers.htm
  4. World Health Organization. Dementia fact sheet. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia